Politics

Sestak to Announce Challenge to Specter

By Prerana Swami

August 3, 2009 / 5:38 PM EDT / CBS News

(AP Photo/Harry Hamburg)

After months of campaigning around the state, Pennsylvania Representative Joe Sestak will officially announce Tuesday that he will challenge incumbent Arlen Specter in the state's Democratic primary in 2010.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Sestak is expected to make a "major campaign announcement" at 8:30 a.m. in Folsom, Delaware County.

The Inquirer notes that Sestak has been lashing out at Democratic leaders for their support of Specter, who recently joined the Democratic party after four decades as a Republican.

A July Quinnipiac poll showed Specter with a significant lead over Sestak, with 55 percent of the vote to Sestak's 23 percent among registered Democrats.

Sestak's announcement in Folsom is the first on a two-day tour. He will stop in Pittsburg, Johnstown, Harrisburg and Scranton before ending Wednesday with an appearance on the "Colbert Report."